One thing I love about being an educator is identifying student passions. I don’t have much trouble expressing my own passions in the classroom, but it is not always easy to get students to match my excitement. Last Fall, I had a handful of students approach me separately for employment or special project opportunities, all interested in a similar subject. Hydroponic plant production is of high interest among students right now, and I had been considering designing a short introductory course on the topic. With a few experienced students looking to learn more, we had a unique opportunity for hands-on learning. So, I brought them together and we set out to design a course from scratch.
Around this same time, I had joined a small cohort of faculty in the college of ACES working on “Action Learning”. At its most basic, this educational framework leverages project-based teamwork to solve real-world problems. It also emphasizes the inclusion of a “client” so that students are working with an external partner to address a need (for more, see: Bourner & Rospigliosi, 2019; Lizzio & Wilson, 2004). This was just the model I was looking for to hone my interests in authentic, experiential learning.
Working as their “client”, we met regularly to workshop curriculum and plan designs for the greenhouse. Throughout this process, I tried to encourage mentorship between graduate and undergraduate students and lean on each of their diverse interests and experiences for co-learning.
The original Hydro PlantEd team busy assisting undergraduate researcher, Maggie Jaminski, with her project.
Left to right: Madi Kramer – SFES Intern, Solomon Davenport, Niko Goodwin, Sam Osorio, Maggie Jaminski
Nearly a year later, we still do not have a finalized course. Instead, an authentically student-led research group has emerged that is as dynamic and creative as the students who participate. This humble collaboration inspired two graduate student and one undergraduate special topic projects on hydroponic education and provided the supplies for a summer undergraduate research experience. Students even applied for and received funding from the Student Sustainability Committee. The lead on that project, Niko Goodwin, is now a PhD student in my lab, working with this team on addressing food insecurity on campus through a series of workshops and “DIY” hydroponic capacity building for college students. The group even has their own brand, Hydro PlantEd.
Coming full circle, Niko and his core Hydro PlantEd team have now become the clients for my other classes. Students from Vegetable Crop Production and Urban Food Production collaborate and design off-shoots to the original project concept, adding their own spin while continuing to fulfill the original mission. The team has moved into their own greenhouse, contributing to an entire room for controlled environment growing system displays and education.
In pursuing student passions I learn a lot of hard lessons as an educator. The process has not been easy or efficient, and it has frequently humbled me and my capacity as a mentor. Still, the learning outcomes are clear. As a truly student-led project, students learn to wrestle with messy ideas and incomplete goals, communicate and collaborate, troubleshoot and pivot, and secure funding, all while applying scientific principles. This skill set sounds a lot like my day to day, and probably yours, too.
Keep growing,
Jack McCoy, Ph. D.
Lecturer of Horticulture
Director of Sustainability in Food and Environmental Systems
Department of Crop Sciences and Office of Academic Programs
Literature Cited
Bourner, T., & Rospigliosi, A. (2019). Origins of the ethos of action learning. Action Learning: Research and Practice, 16(3), 238–253. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767333.2019.1619516
Lizzio, A., & Wilson, K. (2004). Action Learning in Higher Education: An investigation of its potential to develop professional capability. Studies in Higher Education, 29(4), 469–488. https://doi.org/10.1080/0307507042000236371